Local woman-owned business on a roll

By David Mullen

In what might be surprising to many, Dallas is home to one of the nation’s leading egg roll manufacturers. Van’s Kitchen, on the outskirts of the Design District off Irving Boulevard, creates millions of egg rolls annually, primarily for grocery and convenience store retailers. 

Van’s Kitchen is a certified woman and minority-owned business headed by CEO Theresa Motter. She particularly values her more than 180 employees. She calls them “roll” models.

“We are focused on our people,” Motter said. “If our people do a good job, it resonates. For us, being immigrants here, diversity and inclusion have always been important to us. We talk about ‘There is room at the table for everyone.’ If you have a passion for eating, you have a passion for serving people.” 

More than 60 percent of their work force is female, and more than 90 percent are ethnically diverse. The company’s first employee still works at the facility. Van’s Kitchen was named the largest Asian business in Dallas by D Magazine.

Motter grew up in Vietnam, but, as a young girl, moved to Carrollton and graduated from Newman Smith High School. “I came when I was two to the U.S. I was in different places before I settled in Dallas. My parents came to the U.S. to teach Vietnamese to the soldiers that were going to Vietnam. They were civilians that were teaching officers,” said Motter, the mother of two with husband Carl, who is chief revenue officer at Van’s.

She went to North Texas State (now UNT) and majored in business. She never thought that making egg rolls would be her career. “I think my food background connection is that I like food. We eat food,” Motter said. “For us, it is a good way to connect and share a little bit about our culture and a little bit about ourselves. When you come from a different background, it is always good to share.”

But are egg rolls considered authentic Asian cuisine? “In Vietnam, we have the spring roll,” Motter said, “which is similar to an egg roll. The outside, which is called the wrapper, is different. The spring roll is made of rice paper and the egg roll is made out of flour.” Egg rolls are deep fried in Asia as they are in the U.S.

“I always use the analogy of pizza,” Motter said. “If you eat pizza in Italy, it is not what we have here. Or tacos. There are tacos in Mexico, but they are much different. The concept is similar, but what we are making is a more Americanized version.” 

Don’t confuse the egg roll with the fortune cookie. Egg rolls came from China. Fortune cookies came from California. 

Van’s Kitchen was founded in 1986 by her parents Van and Kim Nguyen. Motter’s father Van went to college with someone that started a (now competitive) egg roll business, worked in distribution and decided to roll the diced vegetables and start his own egg roll making enterprise. 

“I had a corporate job lined up for me out of business school,” Motter said. “But we [parents] were just starting the business and they said ‘Well we helped you through school. Why don’t you help us get started with this business?’ I was supposed to work six months and have been here 36 years.”

Egg rolls are a staple at Asian restaurants. Motter’s mission is to get them into the hands of active or take-home consumers. “Egg rolls are a great carrier. Everyone loves something fried and crispy, and you can put everything in there. They are neat to eat. You can eat them on the go. And it is a great way to sneak vegetables into your kids.” They are mainly found in the frozen food isles and deli counters at more than 10,000 large retailers like Wal Mart and Kroger.

Van’s Kitchen’s egg roll retail packages are primarily sold in four-packs of chicken (their best seller), pork, vegetable and chili lime chicken variety. Inside the 55,000 sq. ft. facility is a combination of manual labor and automation. Fresh mixes, largely sourced from Texas-based and other domestic suppliers, are injected into a flat, napkin sized wrapper, rolled, fried and then blast frozen, quality controlled and slid into retail packaging. The manufacturing process is fast paced, reminiscent of the famous “I Love Lucy” scene when Lucy and Ethel were working at the candy store, without the chicanery.   

“When we started our business in 1986, before the Food Network and before everything was more global, I had to explain what egg rolls were to consumers. When we were doing demonstrations at grocery stores to buyers, they would ask, ‘What’s an egg roll?’ One time, I was at a military base and they asked me what an egg roll was and this man asked ‘Is there a rat or a turtle in there?'” Shaking her head, Motter said, “We don’t eat rats. But we do eat turtles!”    

In honor of National Egg Roll Day in June (which Van’s Kitchen created), Van’s Kitchen donated nearly 100,000 egg rolls to the North Texas Food Bank. A portion of its egg roll proceeds went to No Kid Hungry and their charity Van’s Cares Fund. The company also created promotional materials for retail clients advocating activities to celebrate cultural foods and diversity.

“My dad used to say, ‘We make millions of egg rolls, but people eat them one bite at a time,'” Motter said. “For us, it is important that we live up to our brand promise. I was a working mom, and I wanted to invite people to be part of my life and my culture. I am trying to provide solutions for people that are on-the-go, living a busy lifestyle. This is food. It is fun and shouldn’t be taken so seriously.”

But Motter is serious about her commitment to her brand promise. “At Van’s Kitchen, we believe that there is room at the table for everyone, whether it be the dinner table or the table of opportunity and are committed to providing delicious artisan egg rolls to our consumers across the country.” Motter also remains committed to her “roll” models.